mag?ick
n.
An action or effort undertaken because of a personal need to effect change, especially as associated with Wicca or Wiccan beliefs.

displacement
German Verschiebung, 'shift' or 'move')
is an unconscious defense mechanism whereby the mind substitutes either a new aim or a new object for goals felt in their original form to be dangerous or unacceptable.

displacement operates in the mind unconsciously, its transference of emotions, ideas, or wishes being most often used to allay anxiety in the face of aggressive or sexual impulses.

via- Wiki

Synopsis:

The Spell-caster is hindered by his or her own subconscious due to their Lack of Direct-Realism of the culmination of the spells operation.

What purpose did you intend for? What purpose did you REALLY intend for? What did you not account for? Can you not do it on your own?

~End of Blog~

Ill be posting my own "Espresso-Thoughts" every week.
I do not want emails asking questions. if you must ask something, ask in the thread.

What I gather from your post is the following:
Premise #1: Magick requires intention. (You need a specific intention when you are casting a spell.)
Premise #2: A spell that is successful for the caster was successful because they directed the proper intention while casting.
Premise #3: A spell that is NOT successful for the caster could be the result of a misplaced intention.
Premise #4: Intentions can be conscious or unconscious.
Premise #5: Sometimes we may direct unconscious intentions.
Premise #6: These unconscious intentions can have negative or unintended impacts when casting a spell.

In other words, when casting a spell, the spell could fail or result in unintended consequences as a result of unconscious intentions.

This does make sense. When I was a Magickal young'n, one of the first things I was taught was that a line of communication; conscious > subconscious > soul > cosmos. While not everyone is spiritual or believes in souls or subtle planes, it did address the relationship between the conscious and subconscious minds in terms of communication (like what was a hindrence, how best to make your subconscious understand your conscious intent, and how to bridge the gap between the two so both worked effectively towards your intent). Not everyone practices meditation, though it is advocated for those who wish to reach altered states and help bridge that gap and better understand something.

I've worked with altered states of consciousness pretty much my entire life without really realizing it, so it came natural to me until I tried to sit down and intend to meditate. This caused a mental block because I set up expectations for what it was supposed to be like, and when that didn't happen, I thought I wasn't that good at it. After I realized that we shifts states of consciousness every day and that it was something I've been doing all along, I got back on track and was able to meditate more effectively (this is a common thing with projection in that people set up mental blocks for themselves without realizing it). Eventually, I started working with different methods of reaching altered states, including trance, ritual song, dance, swimming, even walking or being physical active or living day to day life while being able to reach such states (of varying levels; certain methods work for me more than others, though I have few blocks compared to when I started consciously meditating).

Another aspect I was taught as a Magickal young'n was spell construction and guidelines to it (I actually did start out in Wicca) and it related to Paracelsus' model of the four elements and their qualities;

Air (To Know)
Fire (To Will)
Water (To Dare)
Earth (To Be Silent)

Before that, you had to figure out what the intent and goals were. Is it something small like wanting coffee to taste better or getting a good parking space (or is it larger, like helping you ace an entry exam or ridding unnecessary or harmful habits)? What mundane things can you do to meet this goal? Do you still feel like having cosmic assistance? I was taught that "the Gods help those who help themselves more than doing things for them" and the concept can apply to non-religious or even non-spiritual folk. If you're working towards an end goal, you're recognized for your effort and people are more likely to help you than they would a freeloader.

After you figured that out, you had to know what you wanted to use for said spell. Are you using tools or other physical materials? What are their properties? What energies are tied to them? How are you using them? Same goes for spells that had no physical tools. What all is involved in the making of this spell? Do you want to use your emotions as fuel or do you feel it best not to use them and thus be calm and stable during the casting? This is Air. This is 'To Know'.

Next comes Will. You have your prep all done and you're starting to cast the spell. Are you comfortable with casting it? What energy do you feel? Are you focused enough so everyday chatter isn't getting in the way of your intent? Do you have a sufficient line of communication between the conscious and subconscious? This is the build up of energy. The stage of the spell as it's being cast, though before it's sent to do it's work.

This goes into the power To Dare. This has two parts closely related; the actual sending energy of the completed spell on it's way to do it's work and the dismissal of any other energy called up. When casting in a Circle, it would be the stage of opening and taking down the Circle. Excess energy is grounded and no obvious 'psychic trace' of what happened is there (people can still pick up on energies, though it's not like you poured water and forgot to clean up).

Now that the spell is cast and other energies grounded, one completely forgets it and moves on to mundane things. This can be likened to giving an employee a task and then not nagging them every five minutes and hindering their performance. In essence, one does not speak of what they did (at least until after the fact) so as not to open the spell up to other energies that might influence it. Basicly, not blabbing to reporters that your famous employee is performing their given task and then bothering said employee. The effect is that you eliminate as many accountable factors as you can so the goal has a higher chance of being met. I was also taught
(and found this personally true) that nothing will always work %100 percent of the time.